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Write dedupe rules for a club sign-up sheet
- For College students
- You practice Setting limits and rules
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
Your club's sign-up form has duplicates, and people re-submit to change their shirt size, so the newest entry should win. Ask for exactly 4 numbered lines: 3 dedupe rules, then a line starting Result: with how many rows remain and which pair needs a human check. Same name with a different email must be flagged, not merged. Plain text, under 130 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Matching on exact text. The AI treats "MChen@" and "mchen@" as different people. Try: Add: "Same email ignoring capitals and extra spaces is a duplicate."
- Keeping the first entry. Spreadsheet remove-duplicates keeps the first row, so people get their old shirt size. Try: Add: "Keep the newest timestamp."
- Merging by name. The AI merges the two Sam Ortiz rows, which might be two people. Try: Add: "Same name, different email: flag for a human check, don't merge."
- No count at the end. The AI lists rules but doesn't apply them, so you can't check them. Try: Add: "Line 4: Result: rows left and the pair to check."
- Long or formatted output. AI writes a step-by-step guide with bold headings. Try: Add: "Each line under 22 words. Plain text."
What a strong prompt includes
- Defines a duplicate
- Says which row wins
- Flags same-name pairs
- Asks for a result line
- Sets the shape
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